A Tesco store has been creating a health risk by selling food that is past its use-by date, a customer has claimed.
Products including raw and cooked meats were repeatedly sold to Andrea O’Halloran the day after their expiry date by Tesco Metro in Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, in breach of European Union regulations.
She first noticed that she had been sold food that was past its use-by date more than a year ago. She complained to the store – but continued to notice items on the shelves that should not have been there.
Then, in October, she accidentally bought some chicken that was dated for the previous day and after complaining was assured by the store manager it would not happen again.
Since then, she has managed to repeatedly buy and return items despite making persistent complaints to Tesco head office.
Mrs O’Halloran, 40, of Evershot Road, said: “Almost every time I go in there I find several items that are out of date and either buy them or hand them in.
“My husband has Crohn’s disease, so if he accidentally eats something that is out of date, he could end up being ill for a couple of weeks and would have to be off work.
“What I worry about is elderly people who might not notice that the food is past its use-by date and then risk eating it and getting sick.”
Many of the items found and bought by Mrs O’Halloran were not reduced in price and she claims they were not flagged up as past their use-by date at the counter.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) website states: “A product with a ‘use by’ date cannot be sold after that date and should not be used after midnight of that day.
“It is an offence to sell food after the ‘use by’ date.
“Retailers can however sell products after the ‘best before’ date provided the product still complies with the General Food Law Regulation.”
Last year, the FSA ran a week-long campaign warning of the health risks of eating food that is past its sell-by date.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We set ourselves very high standards for the safety and quality of our food and take all complaints seriously.
“We are currently looking into the issues Mrs O’Halloran has raised.”
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